The Teotihuacan Collapse

Around 250 CE, a violent natural disaster helped transform a rising power. When the Xitle volcano erupted explosively in the southern Basin of Mexico, it devastated the rival city of Cuicuilco, burying it in lava. With its main competitor removed, Teotihuacan’s influence grew, and planners organized the expanding population into a meticulously gridded city. Over two thousand stone-walled apartment compounds, each with shared courtyards, became home to a new multi-ethnic society. The city’s urban core swelled to cover 20 square kilometers, housing a population between 100,000 and 125,000 inhabitants. Its economy was driven by specialized craft workshops, particularly those fashioning sharp blades from local green obsidian glass. From the ashes of a rival, one of the ancient world’s largest and most sophisticated cities was built by design.